You heard right. That is Republican prostitute-frequenter David Vitter saying, "Marriage is truly the most fundamental social institution in human history." I guess he meant to say that marriage is only slightly less fundamental to David Vitter than sex with hookers behind his wife's back. Bob Geiger looks at what happens if Vitter resigns; and, it looks like we'd see an appointment by Governor Kathleen Blanco, anybody of her choosing (any Party), until a special election to fill out the term, which ends in 2010. Meanwhile, Vitter's Republican colleagues are circling the wagons and offering more hypocritical apologies for Vitter:

“David has already resolved this with his family and taken responsibility for it,” Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said. “I’m sure if there are other things he’ll have to deal with, he’ll deal with them.”

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said the confession “is certainly a regrettable incident, but the senator confronted it head on.”

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) was more to the point. “Have you ever done anything wrong?” he asked The Hill. “So have I.”

Is Coburn admitting that he has visited hookers, too? It really is incredible how quickly Republicans will turn a blind eye to "family values" when one of their own runs afoul of their feigned convictions. Just another instance of Republicans prioritizing partisanship over true values.

Alaska: Even more skeletons are leaking out of Ted Stevens' closet, if you can believe it. It turns out that Stevens has made millions of dollars in investments in just the last few years (during his time as Chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee) from a company, JLS Properties, whose owners have received millions of dollars thanks to earmarks secured by then-Chairman Stevens! This really is just getting ridiculous. The Stevens indictment clock is ticking louder and louder.

If it wasn't for NRSC Chair John Ensign narrating this inadvertantly hilarious fundraising pitch video for the NRSC, I would have thought it was produced in the 80's. mcjoan is right on with her observation: "Quick, what's the one word you don't hear in that clip, between the swelling music, smiling children, waving flags, and screeching about taxes? That's right. Iraq. Denial runs deep." Oh, and speaking of Ensign, he just got his payoff for taking the NRSC Chair gig that nobody wanted: a coveted seat on the Senate Finance Committee.